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Businessmen play role in nation building, is it fair to call them chor, lutera? PM Modi hits back at Rahul Gandhi

Businessmen play role in nation building, is it fair to call them chor, lutera? PM Modi hits back at Rahul Gandhi

PM Modi did not name Congress chief Rahul Gandhi but responded to his
repeated allegations of the central government favouring few top
corporate houses and ignoring the plight of a common man.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hit out at Congress President Rahul Gandhi over his allegations of favouring a private businessman over the Rafale deal. Speaking in Lucknow during the inauguration of investment projects worth more than Rs 60,000 crore, Modi said, "There is no shame in standing with businessmen and industrialists. You would not find a single photograph of some people with industrialists but there is not a single businessman who hasn't been to their residence to pay their respects."

The PM referred to Rajya Sabha MP and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh sitting at the event as an invitee and said: "Singh has all the records of the behind-the-door meetings with top corporates."

Modi did not name Congress chief Rahul Gandhi but responded to his repeated allegations of the central government favouring few top corporate houses and ignoring the plight of a common man.

"Like farmers, artisans, labourers and workers, industrialists also have an important role in nation building. Is it fair to call them chor - lutera? Is it advisable to insult them? However, anyone who is indulged in wrong practices has to either run away from the country or to go behind the bars," Modi added.

PM further praised UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his government for bringing an investment of more than Rs 60,000 crore within 15 months of being in power.

"Rs60,000 crore investment is not small. It is something unimaginable. Instead of calling it a Ground Breaking Ceremony, it should be referred to as 'Record Breaking Ceremony," the PM said.

Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi also informed that a MoU tracker has been set up at his office to monitor the progress of the implementation of the MoUs signed during the investors meet.

"In addition, several sectoral policies were also launched after consulting the industries. Some of these included defence and aero space policy, food processing and milk policy, logistic policy, bio fuel policy, etc," Yogi said.

The UP government had organised the UP Investors Summit in February 2018 and signed MoU's worth more than Rs 4.28 lakh crore across sectors. Within a few months, investment proposals for 81 projects amounting to an investment of about Rs 60,000 crore have now been materialised which according to the government would general employment for more than 2 lakh people.

The Reliance Jio Com will be investing Rs 10,000 crore and BSNL is investing Rs 5,000 crore for laying optical cable network in the state. Moreover, Infosys would be investing Rs 5,000 crore and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will be investing Rs 2,300 crore to establish IT/TES centres across the state.

In addition, Adani Power is investing Rs 2,500 crore to lay 765 KV Ghatampur-Hapur transmission line. Paytm is investing Rs 3,500 crore to build its headquarters and campus in the state, according to an official release issued by the state government.

PM Modi also attended an event in Lucknow on Saturday to mark the third anniversary of three key government initiatives related to urban development which includes Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (urban), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation of Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Smart Cities Mission.